Because I Could Not Stop For Death
by hoh-hey
Summary: …he kindly stopped for me. It's not just a game anymore. Long-shot. Written for The Domain's T/D's January/February challenge; prompt, Nostalgia.


OHAI, I win.

T/Ders: If you don't know what The Sims 2 is, Google it. :)

I don't own the franchise; nor do I own the wording of the poem I janked from Emily Dickinson that is the title of the work. I do, however, own the plot; get your own.

* * *

The first thing Gary became aware of was that he wasn't aware of anything except a sense of floating. A sense of falling. He was aware of falling and floating and an incredible sense of weightlessness. He smiled and felt the lips of his mouth pull up, but then the feeling stopped. He tried to smile again, but the feeling didn't return. He pulled his lips experimentally down—or at least thought he did—but nothing happened. His limbs refused to budge when he moved them. Struggling against invisible bonds he strained his shoulders up, he tried to shake loose a deadened feeling that stopped at his neck. Unsuccessful, he then tried to open his eyes, but they also refused to obey his commands. Left with only one option, he decided to float. It wasn't too bad, that detached sense. Reminiscent of the one time he'd gotten to go up in General Buzz's helicopter, it almost was freeing.

"_Gary." _

His eyes snapped open.

Standing in front of him was a hooded figure in a background of white. His robe was tattered and torn, and a large dark hood obscured the place where his face would be. Inexplicably, smoke gushed from the underside of the hood, gusting around as if swaying in a light wind. As Gary looked up, a sense of dread gripped his throat and stilled the breath on his lips. Could it be…this was…?

The figure chuckled; a dry, choking cough of laughter sounded from under the hood. _"Yes, Gary, I am Death." _

Death's voice wasn't menacing; it was a sort of strangled groan mixed with a deep, resonant harmony that nearly put one at ease. He didn't seem to have a need for breath; in fact, Gary could see the limbs of the beast poking through the folds of the material.

"I guess…does that mean?" Gary sputtered, his eyes wide.

Death chuckled again. "_You have died." _

Fear gripped the man's chest. He'd died. He had no recollection of it--maybe a little: flies? Buzzing?--but the incident itself escaped him. He was in his prime. Twenty-four days away from his birthday and becoming an Elder. It was almost impossible to understand why.

Death stretched out a hand, beckoning to Gary with a clawed finger. The bone was twisted and warped, Gary noticed. "_Come with me, Gary. I must show you something." _

Gary reached out and Death pulled him down. Wind rushed past his face as they flew from the blankness. There was a flash of blue as Death pulled Gary along and before he knew it, he was standing next to Death in the middle of the Grunt's house.

It was a small place. General Buzz was a strong man of fantastic discipline. In the military, he denied his brood much of anything in the way of creature comforts. His house was reminiscent of the barracks of the military base on the other side of Downtown: a galley kitchen led to a small den, and a narrow set of stairs led to three bedrooms. All three bedrooms were furnished the same with a dresser, a single bed and a bedside table.

Gary sniffed. Being a man of good taste, he'd furnished his own house with expensive furniture. He remembered drapes on the walls, priceless oils and large statues adorning the lawn and the smell of the incense wafting through the air. He had denied himself nothing. Gary was willing to work for what he wanted, but not at the expense of others. Especially not that of his adopted daughter, Ashley.

"Not to be pretentious, but why are we here?" Gary wondered aloud.

Death chuckled. "_I think you answered that question yourself." _

There came a clatter from the stairs and Ashley Walton appeared at the top. She was clad in a pair of pajamas—awful green ones, a color Gary knew didn't suit her in the slightest—and her flaming red hair was in braids. She was hooting cheerfully as her steps pounded the stairs.

"Dad, Dad!" she screamed, jumping off the stairs from about the third step from the bottom. Her bare feet hit the wooden floor with a thump. She jumped right towards Gary with a big grin on her face. "Come on, Buck's got the balloons; let's go outside and play!"

Gary opened his arms instinctively and bent down to receive Ashley in a warm hug. "My darling, of course we can!"

Ashley leaned forward, tripping slightly as she fell towards Gary. Without a sound, her body passed right through his and she giggled, turning back to look up at the stairs. There came a deep booming laugh from the dining room behind Gary and Death, and Gary turned to follow it.

There he was. General Buzz. A very active man, his brown-haired frame filled the doorway. He was dressed to the nines in his finest uniform; beret smartly atop his head and his shoes spit-shined until they gleamed under the light. Gary stared in shock at him as Ashley bounded up to the impressive military man and wrapped her arms around him, snuggling into the fabric of his coat. General Buzz's gaze softened from what would have surely been an admonition for yelling in the house. He was a stern father, but loving.

"Of course, Ashley," he replied, "anything for you. Buck! We'll be outside by the swings when you're ready. But, first, change out of those pajamas!"

He watched her scamper out of sight and then turned to the woman sitting on the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. She rubbed her belly—she was obviously far into her pregnancy—and he smiled warmly.

"I knew that when you adopted that girl you'd spoil her," the woman remarked in a low, sultry voice. She idly flipped to the next page, no hint of malice in her face. One hand lingered on the fabric covering her belly.

General Buzz sighed contentedly and leaned against the frame of the archway. He crossed his thick arms and beamed down at his wife. "I denied one of my sons the same courtesy, Athena, and now he doesn't want to be any part of my—of our—life. I'm retired now. There's plenty of time for me to share with them, and I'm not going to make the same mistake."

The blonde curled her lips up into a warm, understanding smile. "It's okay, Buzz. I promise you. Now, you'd better hurry and get changed before the kids get too anxious."

He nodded and squared his shoulders before moving up the stairs to change into something more suitable. Athena took a sip from her coffee and watched for a moment, listening to the sounds of her household around her. Before too much longer, the other three had moved outside into the summer sunshine, Buck and Ashley and General Buzz throwing red and yellow water balloons at each other with reckless abandon.

Gary rested one hand on the windowsill as he watched. "Why did you show me this?" he asked Death in a low tone. His voice cracked from the strain of holding in his emotions. "How _dare_ you! You took my daughter away from me!"

Death shrugged and the smoke from his cloak ceased for a long moment. "_I show you what you need to see before you move on." _

"Move…move on?" Gary squeaked. "How can you…you, you _bastard! _Move on? I won't leave my daughter here with him! A tyrant of a man! You've seen what he did to this town!"

Gary swung his arms about wildly, attempting to pick up a nearby vase. To his surprise, his arms passed right through it like he wasn't there. Of course, that's because he wasn't.

"_You don't live in this world anymore, Gary Walton," _Death groaned in his rattling voice, "_and its rules can no longer be followed. He took her in when you left, Gary. She is just a Child. The guiding force that controls our destinies is teaching him a lesson." _

"I won't leave her with him!" Gary choked on his tears. "He's a monster! He won't stop until everything that's different is eradicated from Strangetown! I demand you reverse this—give her back to me! She's my daughter! My…daughter…"

Death sucked in a rattling breath that visibly distorted the air around them. His figure rose into the air, nearly hitting the ceiling as his scythe unleashed itself from nowhere. He pointed a clawed hand at Gary and shouted in a booming voice that chilled Gary's very bones. _"You dare challenge me! You cannot beat me! There is no one—no one, Gary, to play my game against me to win your life back. Look!" _

He waved the scythe in the air and what Gary could only describe as a TV appeared in the air before him. A small white text floating above it read "Ashley Grunt." As Gary watched, Death tapped the screen and icons appeared.

"_These are Ashley's Memories," _Death explained in his croaking groan, "_the things she will carry with her until she dies." _

Gary looked as the TV-thing flickered through Ashley's accomplishments and trying times. Gary smiled. "Look, another D…she never was very good at school. She's more interested in play. But, there's nothing from me. Not even my death."

"_She won't remember your name." _

"Why?" Gary gasped as the images disappeared from their floating perch in the middle of the room.

"_She is General Buzz's daughter now." _Death sounded almost remorseful.

Death floated down from the pedestal, his graying cloak billowing as the smoke issued under the bottom. With a clawed hand he gripped Gary's shoulder. His grasp was tight, but comforting nonetheless. The four long skeletal bones pierced Gary's shoulder, but he found he couldn't feel anything below his neck anymore.

"When she and Scotty were taken by the Social Worker," Gary began, "I took her in because her father loved me. I wanted them—us—to be a family again. We were just beginning our life together…the three of us. I loved Michael. I love Ashley. She is my daughter and he would have been my husband."

Death shrugged, pointing out the window. "_Ashley's father is no longer Michael Joneses; her mother is no longer Britney Joneses. Her father was never you. Her family is the one where she is now. You must realize that." _

Gary looked out the window at the happy scene of Ashley Grunt playing with General Buzz and her brother Buck. The two males were dark-haired; Ashley's flaming red stood out in comparison. Gary couldn't help but feel an ache, deep inside of him, wishing he could have been the one to be participating in that scene. Death was right. He'd never had a family; being an Athlete was lonely and hard. Michael had moved in because Britney had been abducted; now that she was back, Gary had been tossed aside.

"They're…so happy," Gary admitted. "Athena will be a good mother. She's new to town. I wish…I wanted it to be me. I wanted to have a happy life together with my loved ones."

"_Gary, they were not yours to love." _

The man nodded, tears streaming down his cheeks. Behind him in the foyer Athena put her newspaper in the recycle bin and rinsed her cup in the sink. Heavy music thudded from the upstairs; someone had left the radio on in the workout room. The doorbell rang and the maid entered, ready for her day's work.

It was all…so normal. The normalcy that Gary Walton craved, the normalcy he'd been denied.

"Let's go," he finally said, tearing his gaze away from the lawn. "Take me with you, Death. I've seen enough."

Death could have been grinning underneath that cloak of his; no one ever knew if he had a face or not. "_There's one more thing you have to see." _

--

It was the middle of summer when the broken Joneses household had been reunited. When Britney had been abducted, Michael had fallen into loss and despair. His children had already been collected for their failing grades and put up for adoption. Scotty had been snatched right away by that kook Nervous Subject; but he was happy, and that's what really mattered. Ashley had been in the orphanage for a long time. Michael couldn't get her back…that wasn't allowed. He'd been a lousy father for putting his career first. The Athletic track was demanding and harsh. He'd not been around to help, and with Britney gone, there was no one to care for her.

Gary was also in the Athletic career. The two played together on the Llamas; Gary and Michael struck up a quick friendship on the field that carried off. With Britney gone—for who knew how long—Michael didn't need to be alone. There was no telling what the fiery redhead could do in his despair. Deep in his heart, something prompted Gary to take care of the man. And so he invited Michael over once…things had happened…and Michael stayed. And when he'd learned that Ashley had been collected for her failing grades, Gary had adopted her into his little family. All for Michael, who he had fallen in love with years ago, when they'd first both started training and working side-by-side as teammates. Michael had been so happy. He was still married to Britney, but Ashley would respond to him again; tearful reunions were shared and the world was right.

Then Britney had returned, changed, with something different in tow. Michael hadn't known she'd been pregnant before she'd left—then she came back with a Child (his second son, David) and then Britney had given birth to a green-skinned girl, who they'd named Kelly. Michael had left Gary in a heartbeat, returning to his love and his son. He had completely forgotten about Ashley, who wasn't really his anymore.

Gary had wept. No amount of tears could wash away his pain.

And then…the flies had come in the middle of the night…and the next morning he was gone.

Britney sat on the front stoop of her house in the bright midday sun. Kelly was in her arms; beautiful baby girl that she was. Across the lawn was the Grunts' house; the Joneses family lived directly across from the Grunts in the second house built of the same style for the military. General Buzz had welcomed them cordially, but kept his distance when the unfolding drama occurred. Now he was happily married, and hadn't cast a single glance to the house that was across the way.

Britney sang softly to her baby as she rocked on the porch. It was a haunting lullaby that spilled from her lips. Something that didn't even have words, but she'd heard it on the spaceship and it was all that kept her sane while she was there. It was one of few things to which Kelly responded—even she couldn't deny the true roots of her parentage.

She hummed under her breath, looking up absentmindedly as General Buzz suddenly appeared on his doorstep. He cast a curt nod to Britney before walking with a determined march to the front of his house, which lay perpendicular to the road. A blue van sat there, something that Britney hadn't noticed before.

Kelly cooed in her arms, distracting her from the van. When Britney looked up again, the Social Worker was standing in the road, talking to General Buzz, and then a slim form emerged from the door to the van. Britney's breath caught in her throat as General Buzz embraced the Child, and then, hand in hand, the two walked back across the lawn and into the house.

Tears slid down the woman's cheek as she clutched Kelly tighter to her body. The scene had pulled her soul…something deep inside. It was as if the whole thing was staged: she was supposed to see that General Buzz had adopted a girl, and the girl had been her lost daughter all along.

"You know what, Kelly?" Britney asked the sleeping child. "That's my daughter. That's her. She's come back here so I can watch her grow up. I miss her so, Kelly. She was my first daughter, and you'll not know her, but she was. Michael and I lost her and her brother, Scotty, but he's in a good home and now she is, too. She'll grow up to be a beautiful woman. My Ashley…"

Humming softly to herself, Britney pushed a strand of her flaming red hair of her face, and she snuggled the baby closer to her breast. "He doesn't remember her," she whispered to her peculiar green-skinned child. "But I do."


End file.
